


Refraction

by SoVeryAverageMe



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Character Study, Could be interpreted has Kagehina Pre-Slash, Friendship, Gen, Personal Growth, musings about the future, reflections
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-24 16:22:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21960880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoVeryAverageMe/pseuds/SoVeryAverageMe
Summary: Karasuno was so different from the amalgamation of students he had convinced to join him during his one failed middle school game.They were a real team. One that would have highs and lows. One that would vastly improve his volleyball skills. One that he would get to experience Nationals with. A team that loved his sport as much as he did.In the end, though, he learned so much more than volleyball.(Or, Hinata, Karasuno, and what he learned during the in between).
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou & Karasuno Volleyball Club
Comments: 2
Kudos: 42
Collections: Haikyuu Secret Santa 2019





	Refraction

**Author's Note:**

> This is my secret santa gift for [Cherrym](https://cherrymarts.tumblr.com)! This is a bit of a character piece on Hinata and his relationships with the Karasuno team! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Hinata had dreamed of going to Karasuno since he first saw the Little Giant on television. His middle school years were filled with extra practice and imagining what it would be like once he finally got there. Karasuno was so different from the amalgamation of students he had convinced to join him during his one failed middle school game.

They were a _real_ team. One that would have highs and lows. One that would vastly improve his volleyball skills. One that he would get to experience Nationals with. A team that loved his sport as much as he did.

In the end, though, he learned so much more than volleyball.

* * *

Daichi was the rock on which the entire team leaned on. Hinata once asked him what it was like to be captain. They had arrived at practice early – Daichi by routine, Hinata by fluke. In the quiet early morning twilight, with just the two of them, he said, “My legacy to this team will be measured by the continued success of those who are left behind.” It was a piece of advice that Hinata would never forget.

If Daichi led by example, then Suga grew into his vice captaincy as a trusted advisor for the entire team. Hinata remembered watching Suga on the sidelines of their first Interhigh match. He didn’t think that he’d have the courage to choose the good of the team over his own passion for the game. Maybe Suga was stronger than all of them.

Asahi led the team in a completely different way, strong when it felt like the entire world was against them. Hinata once aspired to be the same kind of Ace that Asahi embodied, until he heard him mention that the hardest part was feeling like the hopes and dreams of the entire team were on your shoulders. That kind of pressure wasn’t something that Hinata was prepared for, at least not yet. He may never become Asahi’s kind of Ace, but he played with empathy and strength that Hinata would try to emulate in his own way long after he left Karasuno.

It was with a steady humbleness that Daichi, Suga, and Asahi lead the team. One that Hinata would strive to emulate for his own kouhai once he was a third year. He wasn’t sure if he would ever pulled it off as good as his teammates, though.

* * *

Kiyoko made him nervous the first (and second and third) time that she talked to him. She always had a shrewd gaze and clipboard in her hand. During one practice match, while he was subbed out, she commented that he was doing well that day. He wondered out loud how she knew, and she replied that it was her job. After all, she made sure that all they had to do was play the best game that they could, and she kept track of everything else. It was in that moment that Hinata realized just how terrifyingly talented she was, far eclipsing her physical beauty.

Every time that Hinata saw Yachi in the stands or by the sidelines, he was so incredibly proud of what his friend had accomplished. When she had first joined the team, she was a nervous wreck who knew nothing about volleyball. Over time, she became more confident, more knowledgeable, and an integral part of the team.

She reminded him that they were all beginners at one point, and that there’s always room to grow, even if it took facing your fears.

* * *

Hinata had long loved volleyball, but it was the second years that showed him the uninhibited joy that the sport could bring.

Tanaka’s gameplay was always accented by scream of joy, a slap on the back, or an impassioned speech. Every game felt like an adrenaline high that never ended. His energy was infectious, making Hinata feel like he could jump forever. It was like Tanaka and him spoke the same language, that no one else really understood.

Hinata was in awe of Nishinoya. There was something about his confidence on the court that was unmatched. He had often saved the team from assured defeat, becoming a cornerstone of their defense. Noya would never play an entire match, but he made every second on the court count. Hinata always felt more confident knowing that the other boy was on the backline.

When Hinata had heard that the other second years had, at one point, quit the team, he couldn’t believe it. Ennoshita, Kinoshita, and Narita were the face of perseverance and hard work. They were diligent in their practice, positive, even when bypassed for matches by the first years, and never ever complained. They played because _not playing_ was worse, and Hinata couldn’t help but think about that often.

The second years were the steady backbone of Karasuno, from which they would continue to grow. Hinata knew that the team would be in good hands once the current third years graduated, and he only hoped that he could follow in their footsteps.

* * *

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were two sides of the same coin.

Hinata and Yamaguchi were often paired up for practices. The other boy was willing to stay long after practice to try again and again and again on whatever they needed to improve. He worked tirelessly to perfect his jump float serve – worked for one serve and his one chance to turn the tide during a game. And he did it all with a smile.

Out of everyone on the team, Hinata didn’t know if he’d ever be able to be friends with Tsukishima. His apathy was the antithesis of everything Hinata understood about volleyball. And then, something clicked. Like himself, Tsukishima had also found a missing part of him in volleyball, it just took him a little longer.

Together, they taught Hinata about the importance of every _single_ point. That one point could be the change the entire course of a game, it could be a confident booster, or just proof that all the extra practice paid off. Or maybe that one point didn’t change anything. You still lost the game, or you’re taken off the court before the next serve, or that one point was inconsequential in the long run. In the end, though, that point still meant something to _you._

And that was worth everything.

* * *

No one cared more about volleyball than Kageyama. It consumed his every thought. During his middle school years, this worked to his detriment – he was on a team that didn’t understand nor knew how to help him improve. That changed at Karasuno.

Hinata and Kageyama were drawn together by fate and volleyball, but there was something much deeper that ran between the two of them. They made each other better.

Hinata didn’t know what he would have done if he hadn’t met Kageyama. Thinking about what could have happened had their paths never crossed was an absolute nightmare. What, at first, had seemed like a curse turned out to be the greatest gift. Both for his volleyball career and for the rest of his life, too.

Kageyama had taught him that volleyball was so much more than just a game. It was a lesson that they had to learn together.

* * *

Hinata always thought that there was something special about Karasuno. The afterschool practices, yearly tournaments, and growing volleyball skills were second to the laughter, joy, and wonder that he felt in the presence of his teammates.

It was at Karasuno that he first felt like he could fly.

Volleyball was a sport that you couldn’t play alone. It wouldn’t be possible without the five teammates playing beside him, the rest of his teammates chering from the sidelines, the tireless work of their managers and coaches, and every person who came to watch them play. It was, above all, a sport about connection.

The connections he made at Karasuno would last long after they all went their separate ways; they would last a _lifetime._

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Unintentionally, this sort of became a companion piece to my other work [Horizon](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14250156). 
> 
> If you want to hang out with me on other places of the internet you can find me on [tumblr](https://soveryaverageme.tumblr.com/) or (sometimes) on [twitter](https://twitter.com/SoVeryAverageMe) (and also as @soveryaverageme on most other social media).


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